Process of producing steel.



PATENTED MAR. 24, 1906.v

P. EYERMANN. PROCESS OF PRODUGING STEEL.

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ATTOEMYS PATENTED MAR. 24, 1903 APPLICATION FILED $EPT.11. 1901.

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P. EY RMAN PROCESS OF PRODUGING STEEL.

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PATENTED MAR. 24, 1903.

P. EYERMANN. PROGEES 0F PRODUCING STEEL.

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lltl'l Elt EYlEl-KMANN,'OF BENR Ylii, NEAR. DUSSELDORF, GERMANY.

access or PRODUCING STEEL..

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,594, dated. Blarch 2.4, 1903.

Application filed September ll 1901. Serial No. 75,066. the specimens.)

To all whom it may (NHL-(18,772. 1 llo itknown that 1, PETER EYERMANN, chief engineer, of the city of llenralh, near Dusseldorf, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for they -Production of Steel by Means of Blast-Furnace Gas, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates t a process for rapid production E iron or steel by direct heating by blast-furnace gas, a preliminary heating and improvement in the quality of the gas being effected by suitable devices.

In theaccompanying drawings, Figure l is 32. Fig. is a plan view ol'a modification.

' partments.

usual, with checker-works.

Blast-furnace gas is employed for generating the heat required for working the furnace. The gas is first purified by any one of the, known methods from dust and is forced by a fan under certain pressure into the supply-main, and, as in an ordinary heartlrfun nace, the gas is led by a pipe 1 to a regulating-valve 2, and the air for combustion in the furnace is introduced in the usual way by a regulating-valve 3, this air being, if necessar supplied under pressure.

7 The usual current-reversing devices for the 'gas and the air are preterably operated by lovers 1 and Efrem an upper working plat form (3.

From each revcrsing'dovice there branch 01f three'passages 7 S 9 and 10 11 153.

When, for instance, the blast-furnace gas enters by the passage 7, it first passes into a regenerative chamber 13, which is filled, as Thence it fiows by the passage 1t into the lower chamber 15 of a eokctower 16, from the top of which it passes by a fine 17,to the open-hearth furnace proper, 18. The chamber 16 has three com1- The upper compartment 19 is like an ordinary gas-producer, charged at the 'top with coke or coal through a double closure. The hopper 2O closes the cylinder 4-1. Through the hub o the hopper 20 extends the suspension-rod t2 of the bell 21. By this rod -12 the hell can be lowered and lifted from the outside. 7 coal is charged in the cylinder -Ll. \Vhen charged, the hopper is closed and the bell is lowered by the rod. The coal then falls in the prod uccr, and the bell is again lifted for closing the c linder. lost. The bell'is made'of fireproof material. The middle compartment has doors by which the ashes that accumulate on the arch EZ-t can from time to time be removed. The

\Vhen the hopper is lifted; the

ln this way no gas is arch it above the lowest compartment 15 has holes through which the gas entering below 24 passes up into the compartment 22 and thence onward through the glowing materials to the upper compartment19. In order to start the producer 16, air is admitted through the doors 23 to support the combustion of the ignited fuehthe holes 95 being at this time closed by covers. From the chamber 13 branches 011 a line 26, which opens into the fine 17, leading to the openhearth furnace 18. The air flows in through the fine 10 and passes through to the regenerative chamber 27., out through the line 28, and thence to the furnace-chamber 18. The gas and air are so heated in the regenerative chambers 13 and 27 that they bu rn with great heat in the open-hearth furnace 18, the gaseous products of combustion escaping by the lines 29, then passing through the generative chambers 15 and 27,the lines 9 and 12, and then, finally, by the reversing devices 4; and 5 to the flue- 30, by which they pass into a chimney.

The open-hearth furnace 18 may be an ordinary stationary or a tilting one. 1

The furnace shown in the drawings is new only in the following respects: It has two hearths 31 midi-32, the hearth 31 constructed as in any other open-hearth furnace. (Shown in Fig. 5.')- The other hearth. 32 has twyers 33, like every Bessemer converter, but direct; edobliquely uponthe top of the bath on the hearth 31. The twyers all open outside into I a receiver 34., which is supplied with hot or cold blast from theblast-furnace by a ltlexi-t ble tube43, connected to 35. The tn, e 4.3: may be connected directly with the blast-pipe of theblast-furnace, in which case the blast is cold, or the blast may be taken hotfrom the apparatus employed to heat the same. I The blast is regulated by a valve arranged in 37 for thegas-fiues, 38 and 39 for the air-pasthrough the twyers 50. Therefore four kinds twyers side of the furnace or they may be arimparting a slight rocking movement to the the supply-pipe. For the purpose of exactly regulating the working of the furnace there are provided five damp'crs-namely, '36 and sages, and 40 in the chim ney1fiuc'-t.0 regulate the draft. The receiver 16, which contains carbon of any kind, can be used also at any time as a common gas-producer by means of blowing in blast from the blastfurnace of gases can be used in the furnace-first, blast-furnace gas; second, producer-gas; third, improved blastfurnace gas; fourth, improved waste gas. The air-heating chambers may also be arranged at 41 42 on the ranged on both sides. By means of the dampers the working of the furnace may be so arranged that part. of thewasie gases shall'pass into the gas-producer 16, through the fine 17, up into the compartment 19,- causing perhaps incandescence of-the' fuel in 16, and thence by the flue 14 to the chimney. The CO of this waste gas is there also changed into 2C0, and'this part of the Waste again may be used for burning by means of a flue 44, which mustisomewhere have a com m unicatipn with the other side of the furnace, as at 45. Both sides 44 and 45 in their turn also may be regulated by separated dampers 47 48. In this case the dampers 46 and 49 are necessary-for regulating this process. The furnace may also be provided with only the producer l6 and the air-heating chamber 2 the gas-heating chamber 13 being dispensed 'with, as shown in Fig. 6.

The process in the furnace will be as follows: The liquid pig-iromcoming from the blast-furnace is to be charged directly on the hearth, poor blast-furnace gas aione being used for heating the smelting-room. The iron contains dilferent substances-as silicon,phosphorus,manganese, and carbonthe quantities of which have to be reduced to a certain degree to enable the production of steel of good quality. For accelerating this process furnace-blastis to be used in this open hearth, entering through the air-nozzles. The silicon goes in the acid slag, the phosphorus and a certain quantity of manganese in basic slag, while the carbon burns into carbonic acid. By burning the above substances so much heat is gained that the heating with poor gas will be sufficient. By

furnace fresh particles of iron are constantly brought into contact with the blast, so that this first process of fining is greatly accelerated. After a certain time of blowing for the first fining the finishing process begins, during which operation a cooling of the bath takes place. The reduction of carbon and other substances is attained by charging! scrap and pure iron ores into the hearth, a high degree of heat being required for this purpose. Then the coke apparatus will be set in operation, so that-poor gas of the blast-furnace passes through same. By this process this gas is highly improved, because its carbonic anhydrid is converted into carbonic oxid. By burning this improved blastfurnace gas during the finishing process a high degree of heat-is attained for smelting the scrap and ores. As soon as the steel has attained the required quality it is again subjected to a high degree of heat, produced in the furnace by this improvedgas. Finally the whole bath or only a part of it is tapped in the ladle by tilting the furnace.

What I claim as my invention is- 1'. Aproce ss for the production of steel,

which cohsislteinchargingliquid pig-iron from the blast-furnace directly upon a furnacehearth, and heating the metal first by the combustion'of poor blast-furnace gas, and finally by the combustion of improved blast furnace gas. V

2. A process for the production of steel which consistsin heating the liquid pig-iron in the hearth-furnace by the com bustion of poor blast-furnace gas, directing an air-blast upon the surface of the metal for effecting a preliminary refining, and finally passing blast. furnace gas through glowing carbonaceous material and l'lurning the .same in the furnace.

3. A process for the production of steel which consists in heating liquid pig-iron in a hearth-furnace by the combustion of blastfurnace gas, directing an air-blast upon the surface of the metal, and agitating the metal to bring fresh particles of the bath into contact with theair-blast, and finally passing blast furnace gas through glowing carbonaceous material and burning the same in the furnace to produce a high degree of heat.

4. A process for the production of steel, which consists, in charging liquid pig-iron from the blast-furnace directly on the furuace-hearth, heating the metal by the comsame in the furnace to produce a high degree of heat.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.- i

rn'rnn EYERMANN.

\Vitnesscs':

PETER LIEBER, \VTLLIAM ESSENWEIN. 

